Are You Proud of Being An Audiophile?

[MylesBAstor]

From Steve Gutenberg at CNET:

For some reason "high-end" or #audiophile is so tainted few audiophiles admit to being audiophiles. But ask a Leica owner if he's into cameras, I'm pretty sure they'd say YES! Ask a Porsche owner if the car is anything special, I doubt they'd say it's just transportation. But if you ask a guy with a $50K hi-fi if he's an audiophile, they usually say they're music lovers. Hey, you don't need a Shindo amp or DeVore speakers to enjoy music, a Bose Bluetooth speaker or car stereo will play the same notes, rhythms, and melodies but it won't sound as good as a decent stereo. The Shindo or DeVore merely sound better than lesser gear, sound is the reason to buy them, if you're an audiophile.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I enjoy being an audiophile and all of my friends and acquaintances know that I am. I never talk about my gear to them though or promote good gear, but I do bore them with my incessant music selections and opinions. I think they actually appreciate it as I'm regularly asked about music related issues, and I'm happy to oblige. They see/hear my modest audiophile system and understand why I have what I have, although they themselves would never travel down that road. In some way I think they admire my dedication to good quality sound and are pleased for me. That's kinda nice, so maybe that does make me slightly proud.

[cpp]

I look at this question a little different. I'm proud to be a parent of two fantastic daughters, I'm proud to have served my country, but I enjoy being an audiophile.

[Rust]

I've been mulling over a reply to this and have canceled several. Let's just say I have a severe dislike of being labeled. So I am just a guy who likes to listen to music, music I like, on quality equipment that fits my budget.

[1morerecord2clean]

I don't usually bring my passion up among those who don't share it or know me well. If pressed to do so I will just say I like music and play it at home. I never divulge prices. However, many visitors see the equipment and immediately ask questions and want to hear something. I'll oblige with a cut in digital and analog and they are often impressed. I had a worker here several weeks ago and he liked what he heard enough and I couldn't get him to leave.

[MylesBAstor]

Allison: I'm in the midst of doing my thesis.
Alvy Singer: On what?
Allison: Political commitment in twentieth century literature.
Alvy Singer: You, you, you're like New York, Jewish, left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, the socialist summer camps and the, the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right, and the really, y'know, strike-oriented kind of, red diaper, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself.
Allison: No, that was wonderful. I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype.
Alvy Singer: Right, I'm a bigot, I know, but for the left.

[JCOConnell]

I enjoy music, live and recorded. I don't know if that is something to be proud of, but it is what it is.

[Rob]

c'mon guys its a simple question, we're not in therapy I call myself an audiophile when i get asked, i don't volunteer it. someone invariably asks at the office because of all the mini pizza boxes delivered to me "are those LPs? you must be an audiophile" ...yeah I am. the Q&A hardly ever goes beyond that, nobody really cares at the end of the day.

[Bill Hart]

Is there a valid distinction between "tools" that people use, e.g. a Leica to make a picture, or a Porsche to carve a canyon, and the more passive pursuit of listening for pleasure? Perhaps that's the reason for defensiveness, I don't know. I often get tagged by people who know me as somebody who is "into music" but I rarely talk about "audiophile stuff" to civilians. Not that I'm a snob, I figure it would bore them to death!

[Rob]

my buddy always says "if you have to explain it to someone they'll never get it" (being a gearhead)

[Bill Hart]

PS: I also figured out what the counter-argument is to this: tweaking! (and gear selection, tube rolling and the million other little choices that reflect taste, judgment and discernment).

[mkuller]

Yes I'm proud to be an audiophile! And to have been a reviewer for TAS for 15 years. When friends hear my system they are impressed and say they've never heard anything like it. I had a friend who recorded a new CD over with a couple of others listening to music Friday night - he said he had never heard his music sound better.

But now my focus is just on enjoying music and forgetting about the equipment. I still see about a dozen live concerts a year. My millennial daughter loves music as much as I do so I consider her to be a success.

When I explain it people I use the car analogy - you could drive a Honda Civic to get from point A to B but if you're passionate about driving, you would drive a Porsche. I'm passionate about music so this system is my Porsche.

[Rust]

Nah, if I could afford a car really worth driving it wouldn't be a Porsche, it would be a 427 Shelby Cobra. No extraneous garbage like AC, power heated seats, infotainment center, a roof or whatever. Just four wheels, someplace to sit, a honkin' big engine and a loudness peddle. I got to drive one a few times many years ago, long before the prices skyrocketed. Now that was a visceral experience that excited all the senses.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Is there a valid distinction between "tools" that people use, e.g. a Leica to make a picture, or a Porsche to carve a canyon, and the more passive pursuit of listening for pleasure? Perhaps that's the reason for defensiveness, I don't know. I often get tagged by people who know me as somebody who is "into music" but I rarely talk about "audiophile stuff" to civilians. Not that I'm a snob, I figure it would bore them to death!

From what I know of you Bill the word "snob" has ever entered my mind.

[Bill Hart]

Thanks John. I'm still an asshole, but that's a different thing.

[Johnny Vinyl]

To some I am as well....

[Gusf]

Proud and loud!! I do not judge others and I do not explain myself. Life is to short.

[Joe Pittman]

In most recent years I have grown to dislike the term and label "audiophile". I prefer "high performance audio". I dislike what I have seen in media such as TV where we audio enthusiasts are considered to be "out there". Much like the equivalent of cat ladies.

I am a music lover and consider the hi-fi as a means to an end. Always have been and always will be, it's in the DNA. But I freely admit to enjoying the technology and being a tech nerd. Just don't call me an audiofool.

[Doxycc]

RUST - you would have enjoyed my flight from Austin to LAX last week after the Formula 1 race. Listening to Jenson Button and a guy whose name I didn't catch (he raced a classic Formula 1 car in the pre-race) talk about mid-60's Ferrari GTB Long Nose and GTS's (Button has one in UK apparently but has never seen it) as a fly on the first class wall was very enjoyable. And there is a Cobra here in the SF Bay Area for $875k if interested at Fantasy Junction.

[Bill Hart]

Love Fantasy Junction. Those guys are great. Cobrawise-the 289 is the one in my estimation. (The 427 is too much motor for that car). The
275 factory GTS isn't quite up to the GTB in aesthetics or performance. The NART spider is, but that's nutty. My long time favorite was the NEMBO, #1777, for aesthetics (i gather it is no fun to get in and out of with that raked windshield). It wasn't so long ago that you could buy a properly restored 275 GTB/4 for little more than a couple of high end turntables.

[Rob]

the ex-steve mcqueen GBT/4 went for $12 mil a few years ago. all modern vintage Cobras have too much motor, many of the 289 recreations Ive seen have more power put into them than the 427s of yesteryear. there are lots of fail videos on youtube of Cobras leaving car shows doing pirouettes and ending with a bad result. a few months ago I watched a 427 Cobra leaving cars & coffee spinning his car in the intersection and almost took out a new Lambo following behind.

[wspohn]

'Proud' entails, I think, an implicit comparison with others that haven't attained the same place you are at in a given pursuit. On that basis I am not proud - the question is irrelevant. I just enjoy my audio hobby without reference to anyone else.

Do I get great pleasure from my various hobbies (audio, wine, old cars, horology etc.) - you bet. But they all tend to be more or less solitary pursuits, except for the vintage cars, and when I was still racing I suppose I did take satisfaction (pride?) in winning, although I also took about as much satisfaction in just managing to finish!

[Goheelz]

Pride is all too often an error in human behavior, and I try to avoid it. I make no apologies, however, for being a sincere music lover and amateur musician, because these activities are important to my efforts at self-improvement and bring satisfaction on a number of levels not having to do with pride. Fine audio equipment (a pursuit for "audiophiles") for me is not a source of pride, exactly, but I'm pleased that I'm able to get closer to musical experience using these technologies. It's a privilege and a gift, I think, to do so.

[MylesBAstor]

My friends and particular my clients that I see several times a week know I am passionate about a few things: my wife, my audio, my cats, the Yankees and NY Giants and working out (not necessarily in that order but that's ok). In that regard, I'm not really complicated. (sorry Rob for the analysis session!) So yes I am proud because like many things in my life and career, I worked really hard to get to where I am in my quest for audionirvana.

That said, I love talking about audio and music with people. In contrast to the people we run into online, almost everyone I meet is really curious about my audio system. My friends and many of my clients are into music (some are/were professional/amateur musicians, many regularly attend concerts, some are on boards of music organizations, etc.) that makes talking audio a bit easier. About the only thing I don't discuss are prices.

I am a little like Joe. I don't care about what people think but please don't call me an audiophool.